Evernote in an E-ink device

[Don Dz 165]

Does anyone run Evernote regularly in an e-ink device?  There are very few that are true Android devices, and of the few that are, the better ones (meaning not extremely slow) tend to be rather expensive ($800 for the Boox).  I am not really sure about the Nook hack, specially after my old Nook stopped working.

I am currently considering the inkBOOK  and other devices in its price range since it would not be not such an expensive investment, and it would be small enough to carry everywhere, but the reviews are mixed, and the issues of syncing and editing are not very clear.

Any thoughts on this?  

[gazumped 10,333]

Hi.  I run Evernote on Windows and Android (laptops and tablets) so no direct experience,  but if you want to use Evernote on this device I'd suggest you visit a local store and get them to install Evernote so you can test it out.  Otherwise the likelihood is that you'll have limited and slow access - if anything at all - and be very unhappy with both the device and Evernote. 

There is no support for device-related issues,  and I'd be pretty certain Evernote are not coding for that type of device.  If you want to take notes on an e-ink device and save them to Evernote,  you might be able to do so by writing your notes and photographing the content with another Evernote-compatble device,  or  taking screenshots (if that's an option) and sending (sharing?) them to yourself to save them to Evernote.  If you're a subscriber to Evernote and the device is capable of it,  you could email pages to your account.

We're quite fond of one important saying around here though - "Never be first".  Ground-breaking can be a lot harder than it looks at first sight...  

[Don Dz 165]

On 4/19/2018 at 7:46 AM, gazumped said:

If you want to take notes on an e-ink device and save them to Evernote,  you might be able to do so by writing your notes and photographing the content with another Evernote-compatble device,  or  taking screenshots (if that's an option) and sending (sharing?) them to yourself to save them to Evernote.  If you're a subscriber to Evernote and the device is capable of it,  you could email pages to your account.

Nothing quite that complex, I simply am looking for something easy on the eyes (for eye protection, in view of no night mode, and the built in invert in some devices doesn't work so well because of too much color variety to invert.

I may try the new Boox Note ereader since it is a little cheaper than the Max2, Amazon reviews on both Boox devices suggest running Evernote on those devices has already been tried, unfortunately they don't seem to have commented about it on this site.

[Don Dz 165]

Just got the new Boox Note ereader this weekend, it is quite an interesting experience so far, Evernote actually runs reasonably well in it, keeping in mind the slowness of every eink screen, yet the device is relatively fast for an eink. 

But I am finding I miss the desktop functionality with it, yet it serves the intended purpose of saving my eyes since the screen is not back lit, that it does pretty well.  It also works well with a bluetooth keyboard, in fact it is much easier to use with it than with the touch screen.  Input without an external keyboard is not so good, though I never did do much typing in touch screens anyway.

[Brother Tobias 8]

I was using Evernote on the Boox Note 10.3 until the app update to 8.2, with which it has stopped working. I have a ticket in to the tech support at Evernote. I was finding it worked well in version 8.1, though.

[Don Dz 165]

2 hours ago, Brother Tobias said:

I was using Evernote on the Boox Note 10.3 until the app update to 8.2, with which it has stopped working. I have a ticket in to the tech support at Evernote. I was finding it worked well in version 8.1, though.

I am not seeing the 8.2 version, do you mean a beta?  I would recommend avoiding Android betas, too hard to get rid of when there is a problem, unlike Windows betas, because the Android beta replaces the regular version on the Google market, or at least it did last time I tried the Android beta program.

[Brother Tobias 8]

8.2 is the version at the Play Store as of this morning. I installed it this past Tuesday.

[Don Dz 165]

3 hours ago, Brother Tobias said:

8.2 is the version at the Play Store as of this morning. I installed it this past Tuesday.

I uninstalled and reinstalled just now from the play store on Boox Note and my cel phone, still says 8.1.

If you have never been on the beta program, I don't know another explanation.

[Brother Tobias 8]

Hmmm. I've never signed up for Beta as far as I know. I see where Google Play offers an option to be a beta tester, but I've never done that for Evernote. I suppose this could be a regional thing. I just looked again and my Play Store is showing 8.2 with no mention of a beta, other than the option at the end of the screen to sign up for it. WHich I haven't done.... If I could gind 8.1 I'd install it, as that was the last working version.

[Don Dz 165]

31 minutes ago, Brother Tobias said:

 If I could gind 8.1 I'd install it, as that was the last working version.

I found this on a search: https://www.androidapksfree.com/apk/evernote-8-1-1081353-apk-download/

You would have to side load it.

 

[Brother Tobias 8]

Thanks. I'm still working with Evernote tech trying other things; this may be my fall back if they can't figure out what's going on.

[chete013 2]

Hi guys,

Could you comment further how is it going with Boox Note and Evernote? I am thinking to buy it.

I organize many research papers with evernote, and I would like to search and read them using Evernote in the Boox Note 10.3. Do you think it would work fine for that?

 

Thanks

[Don Dz 165]

On 5/6/2019 at 2:52 PM, chete013 said:

Could you comment further how is it going with Boox Note and Evernote? I am thinking to buy it.

The Boox Note is definitely worth it for its own sake (there are now several versions of the Note, some with a backlight! and some physically smaller as well), but there are issues with Evernote, as discussed on the topic link below. 

You could try to investigate whether one of the following recent e-ink Android tablets has the problem or not:  the new DASUNG ”Not-eReader”, the Likebook Mars e-ink Android tablet, and the E-Pad; all seem to have the same Android 6 version though.

I am quite disappointed with EN Android support's dismissive attitude regarding this issue.  Quite a contrast with EN Windows support, which are very professional and helpful as a rule.

 

[Don Dz 165]

21 hours ago, chete013 said:

I organize many research papers with evernote, and I would like to search and read them using Evernote in the Boox Note 10.3. Do you think it would work fine for that?

If you can afford it, I would recommend one of the DASUNG e-ink monitors over the e-ink ereaders, because Evernote for desktop OS is superior in every way to the mobile versions, which have many shortcomings compared to the desktop versions. 

Another reason is that the DASUNG monitors have hardware contrast adjustments, which can be automated per program with their software.  On the Android devices I have seen, if there is any adjustment at all, it is software based, and often doesn't work with some apps.

[chete013 2]

Thanks a lot for all the information. It is very useful.

Well, I have decided to go for the Boox Note 10.3. From Evernote I just want to consume information, not write notes with it (I use iPad for handwriting notes).

Thanks a lot.

[DTLow 5,721]

9 minutes ago, chete013 said:

Well, I have decided to go for the Boox Note 10.3. From Evernote I just want to consume information, not write notes with it (I use iPad for handwriting notes).

I'm curious about using two devices.  I know E-ink is more readable but is it worth it to have two devices?

[chete013 2]

Apple Pencil it's amazing, I really have the iPad in the center of my paperless productivity workflow (taking notes continuously, writing, summarizing research papers, online courses...).

I want an e-reader to read more disconnected, without distractions. But I want a big screen for the pdfs and Evernote, where I have my research literature.

I was thinking to buy the Boox Note Lite, without the note taking feature. But the price is almost the same, so i just decided to go for Boox Note.

My two devices approach is: iPad 9.7 + Apple Pencil + Boox Note. Total: less than 1000$.

[Don Dz 165]

49 minutes ago, chete013 said:

I was thinking to buy the Boox Note Lite, without the note taking feature. But the price is almost the same, so i just decided to go for Boox Note.

If your needs are more modest, the Boox Nova Pro is cheaper and smaller, with similar configuration (no built in speakers though). And it has a front light.

But if you prefer the size of the Note, the Note Pro has a front light and twice the storage, if those features matters to you.  They matter to me, but I already have the original Note.

[Willy Ritch 0]

I know this thread is over six months old now--but I'm curios if anyone has had any experience using one fo the Onyx Book ereaders to read and take notes from Kindle ebooks.  I like to copy passages from books as I read them and would like to be able to paste them directly into Evernote. But no one can seem to tell me if the Kindle app, when installed on the Onyx, will allow copying.

 

Thanks.

[gazumped 10,333]

May not be relevant, but I do have a Kindle and I believe I've exported my highlights and notes from a Kindle (& the Kindle software on an Android) - it is (I think) possible using inbuilt Kindle options,  to then save or otherwise output those notes to third party software.  I was using the feature to edit someone else's book,  so used the notes via email to advise the author what typos needed fixing.  Haven't done it for a couple of years,  so I'd have to research exactly how I got those comments out of a Kindle and into email - but if it worked for mail,  there's no reason why it shouldn't work for Evernote.  I'll leave the details as an exercise for others at the moment - still trying to beat the old year to death and start on the new - but if I find my 'how to' description or have time to open a book in the next couple of weeks I'll post more on that....  If anyone else gets creative in the meantime,  please post your solution here!

[Willy Ritch 0]

It's true--you can copy text and export notes in Kindle. But the highlighting is so slow and any typing to annotate is so cumbersome it makes it fairly impractical.

 

 

[gazumped 10,333]

1 minute ago, Willy Ritch said:

It's true--you can copy text and export notes in Kindle. But the highlighting is so slow and any typing to annotate is so cumbersome it makes it fairly impractical.

 

 

Ah. Sorry about that.  Thought I was being creative..  back to the drawing board...  😊

[chete013 2]

@Willy Ritch, I finally bought the Boox Note 10.3 and I use it with Evernote.

My experience so far (with last firmware and Android 6.0 - it should be updated to 9.0 soon):

- Excerpts from Kindle to Evernote: Works (check the video). Not the best option but it works. 

- Handwriting notes and Evernote: Fail 

- Handwriting notes with Boox Note App and backup to Evernote as pdf: Works

- Annotations on books with the Boox Note Dedault App and synchronization with Evernote: Fail (I use GDrive for that).

- Reading pdfs in Evernote app: Fail (I need to download them and read them with other apps)

- Basic Evernote use: read and create notes: Works

That's my experience so far. I have needed Google Drive and Autosync for Google Drive to have a decent Workflow. I hope when the Android 9 update comes some of these Fails will turn into Works.

Chao.

PD: sorry, the video should be much smaller

 

Edited January 3, 2020 by chete013
Video is to big

[Dave-in-Decatur 2,643]

5 hours ago, chete013 said:

- Reading pdfs in Evernote app: Fail (I need to download them and read them with other apps)

Most of this is beyond my ken, but WRT just this: that is standard in Evernote. The app does not (maybe cannot?) include a built-in PDF reader, and therefore PDFs need to be opened in their default app on the device.

[chete013 2]

2 hours ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

Most of this is beyond my ken, but WRT just this: that is standard in Evernote. The app does not (maybe cannot?) include a built-in PDF reader, and therefore PDFs need to be opened in their default app on the device.

Evernote in iOS and Windows can view and annotate the pds directly. In Android it allows annotation in a built-in tool or open the pdf directly with any third party app just by clicking the attachment. None of this options are possible with Boox Note 10.3. The attached pdf has to be downloaded with the menu feature (Save attachment) and open independently with other apps. A direct click on the attachment doesnt work (i hope it will with the Android 9 update).

[Dave-in-Decatur 2,643]

Thanks for the clarification.

[JR in TX 0]

@chete013

Thank you.  This is a start.

 

[PinkElephant 6,219]

Just as a clarification: This thread was posted before v10 was released. It may or may not work using the new clients.

[Brother Tobias 8]

Rec'd notification the topic went live again after a rest. 🙂 I am having no trouble using Evernote on the Onyx Boox, but I'm still using version 8.3x. I'm reluctant to "upgrade" to version 10 because of my bad experience of the "new" Evernote on Win10… I'm still using the Legacy Version on Windows due to loss of features in the newer version. 

[JR in TX 0]

19 hours ago, PinkElephant said:

Just as a clarification: This thread was posted before v10 was released. It may or may not work using the new clients.

I tried the instructions and they worked. Even if EN on the Boox is an older version.

 

[StevenTillson02 1]

Before I received the Mars, I pictured myself with an e-ink tablet, but when it comes down to it, it's still a reader. The refresh rate of an e-ink screen is slow. It's not that it's sluggish; it's simply that it's not the same as using an oled screen. I did miss the physical buttons on the Nook for moving pages one at a time, but native Android was never meant for such behaviour in the first place. The Mars lacks these buttons, but as I already stated, it wouldn't function anyhow due to Android's limitations. If e-ink and EN are your only needs, I would gladly suggest the Mars.

[allen 39]

For the most part, latest versions of Evernote work well on the newest Onyx Boox devices which are running Android 10. I use it regularly on the Nova 3. I wouldn't recommend it on older devices, as they're Android 9 and run the legacy Evernote client. Sketching doesn't work, the only thing on the Boox devices that works well with drawing/handwriting is the built in Notes app - but for reading notes or typing out quick bits to sync works well.

[Brother Tobias 8]

Thanks, Allen. I use it successfully on the Onyx Boox Note 2. As far as screen refresh, I can't speak to the Mars but the Onyx Boox Note has had a high-speed low-fidelity mode that even works for mono video. I wouldn't watch much video that way, but it does save packing an extra tablet. The ability to have multiple programs running makes it easy to cut and paste between an e-book volume and Evernote (or Google Docs).

[allen 39]

7 hours ago, Brother Tobias said:

Thanks, Allen. I use it successfully on the Onyx Boox Note 2. As far as screen refresh, I can't speak to the Mars but the Onyx Boox Note has had a high-speed low-fidelity mode that even works for mono video. I wouldn't watch much video that way, but it does save packing an extra tablet. The ability to have multiple programs running makes it easy to cut and paste between an e-book volume and Evernote (or Google Docs).

It has become less useful to me on the Note 2 with the release of Home and Tasks, since they're not supported on the legacy version but looking forward to the EN app supporting Android 9 - I believe that's still on the roadmap.

I've "watched" videos on a few occasions - generally when I need the information and audio is priority over video. It works remarkably well for e-ink - but remarkably well for e-ink isn't the same as works remarkably well.

Edit: I'm a relatively new convert to the New Evernote, used legacy for quite a while but it does almost everything I need it to now and I've found I really like Home and Tasks despite being quite skeptical/critical initially. Turns out I can adapt to change, who knew.

[PinkElephant 6,219]

Given the problems with the current Android client I am not sure they really will release a version that works with Android 9. I would not build anything mission critical on that hope.  

[allen 39]

51 minutes ago, PinkElephant said:

Given the problems with the current Android client I am not sure they really will release a version that works with Android 9. I would not build anything mission critical on that hope.  

I hear you, I'm just not using EN on pre-10 devices these days. It's whatever.